


Blood Sacrifice

by TeamTired



Series: The 120 Pairing Challenge [10]
Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: F/F, F/M, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, Oracles, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-10
Updated: 2012-07-10
Packaged: 2017-11-09 13:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/455944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeamTired/pseuds/TeamTired
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Terezi discover that Jack will catch up to the meteor soon and work hurriedly to save the inhabitants of the lab.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Seers' Burden

**Author's Note:**

> This is a three part fic composed of a Rose/Terezi chapter, followed by a Rose/Kanaya chapter, and finally a Rose/Gamzee chapter.

As the meteor lab drifted away from the Green Sun and towards the Scratched session, the general atmosphere was not one of relaxation or relief, but instead sheer terror. Each of the inhabitants was more than a little off put by the constant reminder that directly behind them was an omnipotent murderer, bent on their destruction. 

It was around the second half of year two that something went wrong. Rose Lalonde woke in a sweat, jumping out of the pile she shared with Kanaya, and rousing Kanaya in the process. Kanaya placed a sympathetic hand on Rose’s shoulder as she heard Rose mutter hurriedly. 

“Rose I Am Afraid I Must Inquire As To What Is The Matter” she said, kindly but firmly. 

Rose looked her right in the eyes and could barely choke out the words. 

“Kanaya...he’s getting closer. Something went wrong. We can’t out-pace him. He will catch us.”

“Let Him Catch Us Then We Have The Might Of Four Battle Tested Trolls And Two Humans Who Are Immortal How Can You Doubt Us”

But Rose could only draw Kanaya closer to weep on her shoulder. 

“Because...I am a Seer Kanaya, and no amount of luck is getting us all out of this alive.”

Kanaya just held Rose tighter. 

The next morning, a consultation with Terezi confirmed Rose’s fears. The potential paths the residents of the meteor had before them were dwindling by the second, and they all led to the same place: a showdown with Jack. 

Rose and Terezi locked themselves away for hours at a time, scheming and plotting. They dissected potential strategies, probable timelines, and of course the ultimate plan of action. They began to send the other residents on reconnaissance missions, or to reinforce a particular part of the meteor. As the days went by, the meteor was transformed from a simple science lab to a reinforced fortress.

As Rose and Terezi began to eliminate potential timelines, the sheer bulk of information began to overwhelm them. There were simply too many variables to consider, too many paths to avoid. Sometimes after a hard night of “seeing”, as they were oft to call it, Rose and Terezi would just sit and hold each other, trying not to cry. 

And as bad as Rose felt about staying away from Kanaya like this, Terezi was the only one that could really feel the same way she did, the only one who knew what it felt to see her friends die a thousand times without any real victory. 

In the last two days before the fight itself, Rose and Terezi had reduced themselves to trance states, operating purely within the realm of the potential. The other occupants of the meteor learned to avoid them, for fear of breaking the intricate webs of possibilities the two girls had constructed. 

That night, Rose startled out of her trance, finding her lips firmed locked with Terezi’s. Her immediate response was to stop herself and apologize, but it felt so right she couldn’t stop. Instead she wrapped herself around Terezi, running her hands up and down her delicate frame. Somehow, this was what Rose was meant to do, and she certainly wasn’t willing to deny fate, especially when it tasted so good. A long passionate kiss became a series of friendly pecks, which eventually turned into deep kisses (in which Terezi used a shocking amount of tongue). 

When the two finally broke away, they each felt more clear headed than they had in days, as if that single moment of tension relief was all either one of them needed. But when Rose looked at Terezi, she could see the teal tears streaming down her face. 

“ROS3” she yelled out between sobs, as if the information was being forced from her. 

“1 FOUND TH3 P3RF3CT T1M3L1N3

1 KNOW W3 WONT F1ND 4NYTH1NG B3TT3R TH4N TH1S

1V3 CH3CK3D”

Terezi took a moment to type out a set of coordinates in a shorthand the two had developed to discuss potential timelines. Rose took a minute to read it, concentrating and focusing her Seer’s sight on the team’s fortune and potential future.

She knew right away that Terezi was right. The team would escape with perfect certainty, but not without a cost. Rose said nothing, opting instead only to embrace Terezi once again. It was the only thing she could do. For the first night in a long time, Rose made her way to the sleeping quarters she had shared with Kanaya. As she nestled herself next to Kanaya, immediately feeling safe in Kanaya’s soft glow. But something kept drawing her to thoughts of Terezi.

That night, the repeated slaying of Karkat Vantas would haunt Rose’s dreams. She tried to tell herself that it was better than the alternative, that it was the way things had to be. But it didn’t stop her feeling guilty, as if she was the one that had signed Karkat’s death warrant. 

At the next morning’s briefing, Rose asked Terezi to brief Karkat in private. Though she would plan out the battle as if Karkat’s sacrifice was a certainty, it would not be fair to deny him the opportunity to do otherwise. 

Rose expected Terezi to spend the night with Karkat, and was surprised to find her in the space the two had reserved for their planning. She sat down next to her in the pile of scalemates and pillows the two had shared through the whole ordeal. 

“Terezi...I didn’t expect to find you here, especially not now.”

Terezi looked right at Rose, her empty eyes seeing right past her. 

“H3 W4NT3D TO B3 4LON3

4ND THOUGH 1 F33L L1K3 L1K3 TH3 LOW3ST OF TH3 LOW FOR 4DM1TT1NG 1T

1D R4TH3R SP3ND TON1GHT W1TH YOU

1F TH4TS OKAY”

Rose didn’t say anything, but she knew there wasn’t much that needed to be said. The last few weeks of working with Terezi had caused them to become close in a way that Rose didn’t think was possible. There was nobody that knew Rose better than Terezi, not even Kanaya. 

Rose lifted Terezi’s chin and kissed her.

As she drew back, smiling, she whispered to Terezi: 

“Only if you promise to tell me how I taste Ms. Pyrope.”

Terezi cackled to herself. Though they knew that they would in a world of tragedy in just a few short hours, they had somehow carved out a small moment of peace in their little lab room. 

On the dawn of the final day, as Jack’s silhouette became visible against the Green Sun, the trolls and humans got into position, ready to do what it took to stall Jack and escape. Rose gave Terezi one last glance, and Terezi flashed back a fanged smile. 

Victory was assured, at least for the chosen few.


	2. The Earth Pachyderm in the Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Kanaya discuss what is to be done about Gamzee.

Karkat Vantas was dead, there was no way around that. But his sacrifice enabled the speedy escape of the rest of the meteor, and ensured that the next time Jack was challenged, the kids and trolls would finally have the upper hand. 

In the meantime, the most important thing was picking up the pieces. And of all the pieces, the now traumatized Gamzee was at the top of the list. All of the lab residents knew it was only a matter of time until he broke again, and with Karkat dead, someone had to pick up the slack, or else. 

Rose and Kanaya sat alone in one of the abandoned labs, filled with the sobering silence created by losing a comrade just a few hours before. Though they both wanted desperately to talk, the weight of loss was simply too much. 

Kanaya finally broke the calm with a laugh. “You Know If Karkat Was Here He Would Call Us Fuckasses And Tell Us To Get Back To Work”.

Rose couldn’t help but let a small smirk cross her face. “You are absolutely right my dear Kanaya. So I suppose we shall get to work. Let’s talk about the massive pachyderm in our midst, Gamzee Makara.” 

Kanaya’s mood immediately dampened. “I Am Of Course Of One Mind Regarding That Particular Earth Pachyderm We Have No Recourse But To Kill Him”

Rose shook her head ever so slightly. “I’m afraid it won’t be that easy. I got a good look at his fate during the fight with Jack. He’s not exactly the kind that will die easily, if at all. At some point during your session, Mr. Makara ascended to the God Tier. He can now only be killed if his death is heroic or just.”

Kanaya’s mouth turned into a pout. “And What Isn’t Just About A Murderer Dying?”

“Lamentably my skill is not in understanding as so much simply seeing. What I know is that somehow Gamzee is incapable of dying a just death. Perhaps it is the fact that at his core he is nothing more than a silly clown. Perhaps he redeemed himself in our fight with Jack. Perhaps as a Bard he simply wields a control over our collective narrative that cannot be analyzed or discounted.

As a result I have come to the conclusion that someone must pacify the Bard of Rage.”

After taking a moment to process the facts before her, Kanaya lifted her head up and locked eyes with Rose. 

“Then I Naturally Nominate Myself

I Am Impossibly Strong And Fast As A Result Of My Transformation And Of The Remaining Trolls I Have The Most Moirail Experience”

Rose’s mood soured immediately. “You know I won’t allow that Kanaya.”

She took a minute to run her hand across the skin of Kanaya’s glowing face. 

“Besides, as a fellow ascended player, I think I stand the best chance of surviving against Gamzee, should my efforts be futile.”

“But What If You Die A Heroic Death

Whats Not Heroic About Dying In An Attempt To Save Us” Kanaya asked, obviously agitated at this point, near the verge of tears. 

“You know I won’t lie to you Kanaya, so I won’t tell you that I know for sure that I will survive my confrontation with Gamzee.

But I think there’s a chance that even if I die, I’ll be brought back. I have a feeling that the same rules that protect Gamzee will be obeyed with respect to his kills. Being killed trying to placate an angry clown isn’t entirely just or heroic, just stupid.”

Kanaya gritted her teeth. “Rose I Cant Allow You To Be That Flippant About Your Potential Death

Even If You Die For A Second Only To Be Brought Back

Thats Still A Second I Have To Live Here Without You”

Rose immediately fell silent. “Kanaya, I’m so sorry.

That’s just the only way I can deal with the thought of dying, especially a third time. There’s this darkness...every time. This moment of perfect coldness and absolute nonexistence.

It terrifies me.”

Kanaya demeanor softened again and grasped Rose’s hands in hers. 

“I Know Rose”

Ive Been There Too

Thats Why Im So Afraid For You

I Never Want You Near That Place Again”

The two resumed their silence, but Rose resisted the temptation of falling asleep in Kanaya’s arms. She had work to do. Saying nothing, she kissed Kanaya, and after a perfect eternity, she stood up and walked out, careful not to allow Kanaya to see the tears streaming down her face.


	3. The Bard's Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose finally descends into the center of the meteor in search of Gamzee, with the intent of neutralizing him.

As Rose walked through the lower abandoned hallways of the meteor labs, she listened carefully between the echoes of her footsteps for her prey. It had been a few days since Karkat had died at the hands of Jack, and Rose knew this was her last chance to deal with Gamzee. She was sure that losing Karkat would have sent him over the edge, the only question was if any shred of docility or sanity could be recovered from Gamzee, or if any had ever existed in the first place. 

Suddenly she heard something behind her, the honk of a clown horn. She knew that she was close. She froze immediately, waiting for a second honk, but none came. Rose carefully considered her options. As she swept the area with her Seer powers, she found her vision obscured and warped, another confirmation of Gamzee’s proximity. 

Then came a second honk, this one directly above her. It gave Rose the moment’s notices to leap out of the way, dodging Gamzee’s attack from above. Without thinking, Rose immediately went into battle mode, drawing a pair of needle wands and leaping backwards. Gamzee delayed for a second, locking eyes with her. She saw him flash a taunting smile before leaping away again in a blur of purple. Flashes of purple alternated down the hallway, and without thinking Rose began to fire at them, leaving massive holes in the concrete walls of the meteor’s hallway. She dashed forward into a large, open room, dominated by a pillar of glowing green liquid in the center. 

Rose heard another series of honks, this time echoing through the massive room. As the echoes of the honks multiplied, Rose lost track of Gamzee’s potential location. She simply drew her wands and began firing again, her arcane energy ripping apart the molecular structure of the walls of the room and adding even more noise to the chaos. 

And then without warning Gamzee was on the attack again. Rose felt a chilling sensation creep up her spine, a sensation she knew meant she was in danger. With a turn of her body, she was able to barely sidestep another strike by Gamzee. This continued for some time, with neither party making any headway until Rose couldn’t take it anymore. Not content with directed energy bursts, Rose instead drew her magical power into herself, balling it up into one giant blast. As she ducked down and collected energy, she glanced about warily for Gamzee. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another purple flash and released the magic through her wands. As the attack blasted through the lab, ripping through the floors and walls in the direction that Rose attacked, Rose realized she had made a mistake. Gamzee trying to manipulate her, and so far he was succeeding. 

Distracted by her fears that she was playing into Gamzee’s hands, Rose was totally surprised when Gamzee appeared directly behind her.

“hey sis” he whispered into her ear. 

Rose lost all control at that point. She could feel the grimdarkness taking over, polluting her mind and ripping control of her body. As the tendrils of darkness spread out from her body, they began to seek out Gamzee. Somewhere deep in the depths of her clouded mind, Rose felt a twinge of satisfaction when her tendrils snapped up Gamzee and dragged him before her. 

But when her eyes of perfect blackness met Gamzee’s, he did nothing but meet her horrid gaze and laugh. And it was his laugh that broke the spell over her, his laugh that caused her to remember who she really was. The Bard of Rage had successfully teased out Rose’s innermost anger without any effort at all, and the Seer was ashamed for it. 

In an instant, Rose willed away the darkness, assuming full control again. Though the knowledge that Gamzee had manipulated her so easily was distracting at best and soul crushing at worst, she had bigger fish to fry than her own insecurities. He was unkillable, unreasonable, and inscrutable, and she couldn’t allow her guard down for another instant. 

She dropped her needle wands, which fell to the ground in a clatter. As she walked towards Gamzee, slowly and confidently, she could see Gamzee wince as he realized that his taunts wouldn’t work much longer. As she crept ever closer, Rose began to disarm herself mentally, removing all traces of her layers of protective sincerity and sarcasm. Kanaya had warned her that moirallegiance was a romance all its own, and should be taken as seriously as any other romantic endeavor. Rose had realized far too late that she could not simply latch onto Gamzee and demand calm, she had to woo him. 

Just feet away now, Rose slowed herself down even more. Gamzee, sensing something was up, began to emit a series of honks of varying pitches and volume. 

“HONK honk HONK honk HoNk hOnK” he began to scream, rooted in place, entirely unsure of what Rose was about to do to him next. Seeing an opportunity, Rose began to croon softly to Gamzee, reassuring him.

“Gamzee I need you to stop. I know you lost your best friend and moirail, I know you pitied him with all that you are.”

The serene sincerity with which Rose spoke surprised even her, but she couldn’t stop now. 

“But he’s gone now, gone for our sakes. He saved us Gamzee, saved us all. And don’t think that I don’t miss him too, that I don’t hate myself and Jack and everyone involved for making sure that he died for us.”

Now only inches away, Rose could reach out and honk Gamzee’s nose if she wanted. But she kept on track, moving ever so slightly with ever word, keeping her eyes locked with Gamzee’s. 

“But this isn’t how we honor his memory. This isn’t how we make up for what we did wrong, or the evils we had to commit. If we let everything he worked for crash to pieces, we’re doing something worse that just killing him, we’re dishonoring his memory.”

Rose choked up for a minute, but regained her voice, finding herself nearly touching noses with Gamzee. She reduced her voice to a barely audible whisper. 

“But we need your help Gamzee. I need you. The thought of losing Karkat is going to rip me up for the next thousand sweeps to come. I know I’ll dream every night of his final moments, of the way he faced death silently and bravely, in a way I know I will never be able to. I need someone I can count on to tell me it’s okay, to tell me that what matters is the future, what we can make from the ashes. And I think maybe that troll could be you.”

Rose was speaking from the heart now, a place entirely foreign and uncomfortable for her. She realized that when she started out, she may have been seeking to simply placate Gamzee, but something changed. 

It wasn’t about changing the clown anymore, it could never be about something that one sided again. It was about her needing him now, her needing his soft shoulder and pitiable eyes. But at the same time it was about him needing her, needing someone to keep him on track and remind him that there was good in the world, that somewhere there were still miracles, and maybe it was still worth it to look for them. 

Rose didn’t even notice the tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms around Gamzee’s tall, thin frame. She knew she had more to say, knew that there were more sentiments to be expressed, more feelings to be let out, but she couldn’t force any more words out past the tears. 

But to her surprise, Gamzee began hugging back. He ducked down slightly to her ear and began whispering back.

“rose that was motherfucking beautiful,

and i think sometimes a brother like me needs a lady like you to set him on the straight and narrow.

cause sometimes loss gets a motherfucker all twisted around and not knowing which place his heart really should be at.

but i’d be honored to help you through this shit rose, it’s the least a brother could do for a sister who reminds him that there’s still a little motherfucking magic left in the world.”

When Rose finally let go, the bond forged between them was unbreakable. Exhausted from the mental and emotional stress, she collapsed to the ground, spent. As she looked up at Gamzee, she watched as he collected bits and pieces of broken wall and floor and arranged them carefully near the center of the room. When he was finished, he had created a small pile of rubble, which he proceeded to curl up into. 

Without thinking, Rose got up and walked over, lying down next to Gamzee. As she wrapped herself around him, she could feel herself balling up, warm and cozy and somehow comfortable even in a pile of broken stone. Just before she drifted off to sleep, Rose kissed each of Gamzee’s horns very lightly, and felt him stir just slightly after each. Comfortable and confident in a job well done, Rose finally allowed herself the rest that had been denied her for years, the sort of rest one only experiences when one is completely carefree. Serenity was an alien feeling for Rose, but she took to it like a fish to water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had a lot of trouble writing this one, and ended up coming back to it a few times before I got to the point where I was comfortable writing anything at all.


End file.
